Hey everyone, sorry this chapter is late... I have been really busy with homework and after school activities to write. Well the wait is up, here is the next chapter ;)
• Chapter Twenty-eight: Colour Meaning •
…
"Hello? Anyponeh' 'ere?" The light yellow filly turned around, feeling her fur brush against a slant of wood. "Where am ah?" Apple Bloom's flaxen eyes adjusted to the gloomy light, as she found herself in a wooden room. It was no larger than a few cubic metres, littered with piles of hay on the dusty ground, and spiderwebs spiralling the walls.
"The shed," chortled a snarky voice. "My daddy used to use it for mining and gathering the minerals he found on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Then daddy disappeared from work one time, leaving this shed vacant, and the ideal place to keep prisoners."
Another brattish voice sounded. "It's far away from any towns, and it isn't near that jungle of a forest you call a home. Get used to the shed, you'll be spending the next few days living here."
Apple Bloom pressed against the wall, as she gritted her teeth, recognising the annoying voices all too well. "Ya two are cuckoo!" Apple Bloom whirled her eyes the opposite directions, her tongue lolling out whilst doing so. "And ah'm pretteh' sure that last time ah checked, kidnappin' was illegal!"
"Not when our mama makes the laws herself," sizzled the first voice again. Apple Bloom's eyes darted to a pair of sapphire ones from across the room.
"Besides, she doesn't need to know," the other voice piped, her eyes shimmering purple.
Apple Bloom snarled like a dog- as jumpy as a kelpie and as vicious as a pit bull. The light in the room was switched on, and a bright yellow showered the area. She could now see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon trotting up, and circling her in a daunting manner.
"So apparently you can spin gold," Diamond Tiara snorted.
"Out of this... ga... stuff," Silver Spoon forked some of the straw up, flicking it at Apple Bloom in repulsion.
"Lies, ah tell ya!" Apple Bloom hissed, pushing the hay away from her, and giving the two fillies pleading glances. "Just let meh go!"
"Tsk, tsk, Apple Bloom, was it?" Silver Spoon raised her hoof.
Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes. "Keep dreaming, blank flank. Anyways, we will give you one night to spin us some gold. If you reign successful, we will set you free. If you don't..."
Silver Spoon paved drawings of bars on the ground with white chalk, replicating that of a prison cell. "You will be locked up with all of the other desperate wannabes. So you won't be totally alone... but you'll be the only foal there, yes," Silver Spoon nickered.
Apple Bloom growled, as the two snobbish fillies let out obnoxious giggles. The filly with the red mane watched as Silver Spoon trotted out of the shed, eventually returning with a large object behind her. It was made of wood, held up by three stilts. It then had another board on top of them, with an enormous wheel on one side, and a pointy bit of wood on the other.
"Ugh, do you know how difficult it was for us to get our hooves on one these?" Diamond Tiara trilled, spitting on the side of the wood, and polishing it with a cloth. "Some pony made them illegal nearly six years ago because his daughter was cursed, or something weird like that."
Apple Bloom's sunset coloured eyes widened, as they rested on the instrument. Memories flooded to her, faster than the whipping winds of a hurricane. "Twilaura! Twilaura was the poneh' who was cursed! She's a friend of mine, thank ya very much! Ah was there when she was cursed! Ya can't have this- she'll be sent to an everlasting sleep if she pricks her hoof on this! Dya' have any idea what ya are doing?"
Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "We like, so do! We're not stupid or anything! We don't care about that stupid Twi-what's-her-name pony! We just want to be rich..." Silver Spoon hesitated before quickly adding another syllable to the word 'rich' in her sentence, "er." She hesitated again. "Than we already are."
Diamond Tiara frustratedly face-hooved. "You're so dumb, sis!"
"No I'm not!" The grey filly fussed. "You're dumb!"
The pink filly with the white and purple mane looked ready to rip her sister's throat out, before she let a cooling breathe out, and turned to face Apple Bloom, no expression on her face. "Just get us some gold. There is the straw, here is the wheel. If it makes you happy, then once you get us gold, we will destroy the spinning wheel. Is that good enough?"
"No, because ah can't spin gold in the first place! Ah have told ya one million times!" Apple Bloom ranted.
"Yeah, whatever," Silver Spoon snivelled, as she tearily looked at the ground. "DT, I want to go now! This dirt is destroying my hooves!"
"Permission granted," Diamond Tiara kept her eyes glued to Apple Bloom as she foxily trotted away. "Hooves crossed, blank flank."
"Toodle-oo prisoner!" Silver Spoon called, before ambling out of the shed behind Diamond Tiara. The two fillies locked the shed's doors behind them, smirking as they loped away.
"Hey, she seemed pretty confident at the belief that she couldn't spin gold... do you think she was telling the truth?" Silver Spoon questioned, a suspecting look in her eyes.
"She was probably just trying to convince us to set her free. You're such a dimwit, Silver Spoon," Diamond Tiara flicked her mane, before trotting up ahead.
Silver Spoon huffed, peering at the ground as she cantered behind her friend. "Sorry... I guess I am too stupid to function."
In the shed, Apple Bloom sighed, sitting down on her rump and weaving the hay she had around. "Someday, ah'll go home and see mah friends. Ah just need t' try hard... ya, cause that'll work..."
…
"Sweetie Belle! Sweetie Belle! Wake up!"
Sweetie Belle groaned, rolling over and facing the opposite direction of the voice. "Go away..." She mumbled. "Raripunzel..! No! Don't leave..! Please!"
"Um... do you want me to stay or go?" The pony shrank down.
"No... don't leave... escape from Chrysalis! You have to! You have to!" Sweetie Belle drowsily hugged at the pillow on her bed, her eyes closed, seeming half asleep.
The pony didn't understand this body language however, as he tilted his head. "Chrysalis is here? Has she captured us? Do we have to escape?"
"Escape! Don't go! I love you!" Sweetie Belle cried.
"Wait- what?" the pony blinked, dumbfounded, before shaking his head. "Oh- it's just a dream. Ha, that makes so much more sense. Wow, you had me scared there for a second!"
Sweetie Belle suddenly screamed, her eyes darting open, and peering around the room, breathing heavily. "Oh..." She stammered, peering at the pony. "It's just you..."
His back slouched. "Wow, you seem excited."
"No- I am happy it's just you," Sweetie Belle sighed, sitting on the quilts and glancing down at him on the floor. "You could have been a lot more worse of things."
He smiled slightly, before hopping onto the bed and sitting next to her. "Tell me."
"About... the nightmares?" She asked, fear crawling into her face.
He glanced at the ground. "Just say whatever you can handle- blurt it out, and I will try and help."
Sweetie Belle slowly nodded, rubbing the tears from her eyes with a pillow. "After my sister was plummeted into the portal, I could see the void... it was hypnotising... welcoming me forth. The exhilaration was unbearable... my sister had just been tossed into a circling wrath, and I was standing there with my sister's colt friend in shock. I had leapt forward... I was the first one to jump into the portal after Raripunzel... I remember my eyes locking with her's for the last time, before she was thrown into blackness... next thing I know I wake up in a cage. Sometimes... sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't followed my sister..." She began to sob slightly at the memory of Raripunzel.
"There, there..." The pony put his hoof over her back, embracing her slightly, and wiping away her tears. "What do you think would have happened?"
Sweetie Belle thought for a minute, the pony patiently waiting for her to speak. "I... I probably would have been sent to an orphanage... I would have been raised by another family... I would've never met my friends... and I wouldn't be where I am now..." Sweetie Belle began to weep more at the mention of her friends.
The pony held her close. "Well... what fate do you prefer? Are you glad you went after your sister, or not?"
Sweetie Belle didn't pause to answer this time. "I'd probably grow up, knowing that I had the chance to save my sister, but I blew it away... I would have never known what would happen if I jumped after her. And now that I think of what happened... I am glad I went after my sister." She leaned into him. "I would have never seen or met my friends... nor you..."
"I like the fact that when you said that, you excluded me from the friends list. Does that mean I am in a different category to 'friends'?" The pony teased, an amused expression on his face.
Sweetie Belle turned away, chuckling, and hiding her rosy pink cheeks. "... maybe..."
His eyes widened. "That was a joke, you know?"
"I know," Sweetie Belle flushed, her eyes distant for a moment, before she shook her head, and shuffled away from his grasp. "So... what are you doing here anyway? You don't usually wake me up... this early anyway. So what is it?"
The pony hesitated, thinking, before a lightbulb turned on above his head- literally. "Ah, yes! I forgot! Come, it's a surprise!" He took a blindfold out of nowhere, and tied it around Sweetie Belle's head, covering her mint-green eyes.
Sweetie Belle's voice went squeaky. "You're not going to walk me into a wall or something?"
He laughed blissfully. "No... do you want to be walked into a wall? Because I can do that if you really want!"
Knowing this pony was actually being literal, she quickly uttered, "no thanks."
Sweetie Belle smiled, as she felt him dragging her out of the room, giving all of her trust to him, as he lead the way, making sure she didn't trip.
They trotted for a few minutes, before Sweetie Belle grew impatient, raising her hoof to take the blindfold away from her eyes. "Are we there yet?"
"No peeking!" The pony gently slapped her hoof away. "Seriously, do you understand the concept of a surprise?"
"Nope," Sweetie Belle quipped. It took a few more minutes, before Sweetie Belle jolted to a stop. She peered around the pitch blackness, trying to guess where she was, but she was unsure... the area's vibe she didn't recognise. "Are we there?"
"Most definitely yes- but keep the blindfold thing on, whilst I give my incredibly amazing speech." The pony stepped back a few inches, before clearing his throat. "As you know, I have many secret areas where nopony has been-"
"-too many," Sweetie Belle snickered.
"Let me speak! Seriously! Considering you were just crying a few minutes ago!" The pony rolled his eyes, before continuing. "Where nopony has been before. Anyways, there is this one place which I have never shown anypony... you're the first- like you're the first for the most of the other rooms in the house- but still. Anyways, the reason this spot on my unlicenced owned property is so important, is because it was my only memory... of you. This is the reason I don't have much roses in my other garden... your memory is also the reason I got so furious at your friends." He let out a solemn sigh, before removing the blindfold from Sweetie Belle's eyes. "I hope you like it..."
Sweetie Belle stood, peering around, before her lower jaw touched the ground, and her eyes went as wide as saucepans. Birds twittered in the trees above, and butterflies daintily flew passed. The more amazing thing though, was that there was a whole garden surrounding her... of millions and millions of prickly bushes. But the flowers which grew from the bushes were what astonished Sweetie Belle the most. They were incredibly beautiful flowers, and they came in basically any colour of the rainbow. They were roses, their petals curled up and sprouting out of the green buds. Crimson, white, fuchsia, purple, orange, yellow, burgundy- any colour, even mixed colours, as the divine flowers twirled in the breeze.
"You remembered..." Sweetie Belle uttered, her voice was small, and could easily get lost in a breeze. "You remembered that roses were my favourite type of flower..."
"Of course!" The pony shrugged. "I didn't forget anything about you!" He trotted forwards, into the bushes, making sure he didn't get snagged by the relentless thorns. "Now I know that roses have their meanings... each different colour..." He gently picked a rose from a bush, holding it delicately in his jowls, as he trotted back to Sweetie Belle. "So I'd like to give you this one."
Sweetie Belle allowed an emerald-green aura to surround her horn, as she took the rose from him, and stared at the intricate flower. It's petals were a dark pink colour, so dark it was almost, but not quite red. Dark pink meant 'thank you'.
"Thank you for everything you have given me whilst you have been here," the pony dipped his head respectively.
Sweetie Belle was astonished, as she cradled the flower, tears lining her eyes in joy. "I never gave you anything though..."
The pony shook his head, smiling. "You gave me friendship, happiness, reason to live... you gave me everything, Sweetie Belle."
Sweetie Belle's cheeks went more pink than the flower. "I... I have a flower for you too..." She trotted into the bushes, searching for the right colour, before gently plucking it from the bush, and trotting back, giving it to the pony.
He eyed the flower- it was bright yellow.
"Yellow signifies friendship. You are truly my friend," Sweetie Belle gave the pony the flower, smiling at him. She lay down on her back on the grass, and peered at the clouds, making images out of them.
The pony's eyes widened, as he continued to stare at the flower. What Sweetie Belle hadn't noticed about the flower, was that it had red at the tips of the petals. Yellow meant friendship... joy. Sure, yellow with red meant friendship as well... but it also had a double meaning. He shook his head, as he trotted up to Sweetie Belle.
"I will cherish this flower for as long as I live," he sat down, peering at her.
Sweetie Belle looked flattered. "Same with this one..."
They were quiet for a moment, just sitting and peering at the clouds, enjoying each other's company.
"Where is this rose garden even located?" Sweetie Belle asked, breaking the silence.
The pony beckoned her to follow, as he lead her to the edge of the garden. "Look down."
Sweetie Belle gaped- they were high above the ground below- the ground where the other garden was located.
"We're on the... the roof?" Sweetie Belle gasped, admiring the horizon which spread out before them. The pony just nodded. She tilted her head, "but I don't even remember walking upwards! How did we get up here?"
He shrugged. "Magic." Sweetie Belle wasn't going to question it. Through the time she's known this pony, which had been a whole week now, she knew that questioning his ways was not the right thing to do.
The two foals spent the rest of the day in the gardens, watching clouds, playing and enjoying each other's company. The pony had brought food, so they hadn't needed to go back inside the castle to fetch some.
The pony hadn't had so much fun in ages... however, the rose was still confusing him- it wasn't scaring him or anything. Just confusing him. Had Sweetie Belle given him the yellow with red rose on purpose? There was so much unanswered questions, as after the day had ended, he went to this room, opened a drawer and dropping the rose into it, closing the drawer and letting out bewildered sigh. "I hate these double meanings!" He hissed. "Friendship for the yellow... but then when the red comes in... the meaning could be... falling in love."
…
The events which happened next, Snow Flutter could think over many times, but never truly understand why her instincts had told her to act the way she did. The way she acted was unlike her- no it wasn't located anywhere in her nature. Her heart must have kicked in or something, as she stood where she was, watching the three ponies approach her. Time slowed down... turning to 0.1 as just her blinking would take a second. The piercing eyes of the two pegasi and the unicorn bombarded her, ruthlessly haunting her from that moment. Her heart beat in trepidation, and her teal eyes were wide. Then, her eyebrows curved down, her gaze turning into a glare, as she felt all the strength go into her hind legs. She bent down to the ground, her wings slightly erect. Then, she uttered four words, no apprehension lingering in her voice. "You horrific, maleficent killer." Suddenly, she propelled herself forwards, knocking into the three ponies and sending them down like bowling pins. She trampled over them, before taking flight, and soaring up into the air.
"Oh my Chrysalis..." Soarin held his head, stars twirling above in pain. "Not the reaction I was expecting..."
"Shh! Stay in character!" Flash Sentry retorted, before giving a blunt expression, and turning to Shining Armour expectantly.
"No! Seize her!" Shining Armour cried, before winking to the two pegasi, as they obediently took off into the air.
Snow Flutter flew as fast as her wings could take, which still wasn't a reasonable speed. She peered behind her, to see the two pegasi gaining on her, and fast. Snow Flutter gulped, tears streaming from her eyes, as she pushed herself harder. "It's all about strategy, Snow Flutter. Strategy. What could you do to throw them off your lead?" She was thinking for a minute, before her eyes widened. "That's it! What I do best!" She changed the direction she was flying, as she scanned the scenery below her, trying to spot what could help her. Her eyes finally landed on a small town, located further away from the last of the Everfree Forest's trees. She glanced and saw pedestrians flocking the streets, going on with their own business. The street seemed crowded enough, much to Snow Flutter's convenience. She dived down, angling her feathers and picking up a turbulence. She felt wind whipping at her eyes, as she finally descended, elegantly landing on her hooves, and letting out sighs of relief. Her satisfaction didn't last for long, as she glimpsed behind, to see the two pegasi not far behind her. Snow Flutter squeaked, before getting to her hooves, and feeling them get used to being on ground again. She didn't have time for the clumsiness, as she forced herself into a gallop, her wings now pressed to the sides of her back, and her eyes wide and afraid. Snow Flutter galloped forward, bumping into a few ponies, but not caring or stopping to apologise. She just had to get away. She found herself working her way through the dense crowd, as she continued to run as fast as she could. "And what I do best... is go unseen in crowds." She dived to the ground, curling into a little ball, and feeling hooves work their way over her, as passing pedestrians had no time to look down to see if they were going to step on a pony. She breathed heavily, before crawling along with the flow of the crowd, and making sure no parts of her flimsy body stuck out, which could give a clue to the possessed Soarin and Flash Sentry to where she was. Her heart was drumming, as if a whole rock band was playing inside. The yellow pegasi gulped, as she continued to crawl through the crowds, her tail between her legs. She hadn't seen Soarin or Flash Sentry in a while now- it was a good sign. It gave her a sense of security, despite the situations. As she trotted further along with the currant of the ponies moving along like a river, she noticed that they were clearing out now, lessening her cover. Snow Flutter's eyes widened- there was no more crowd to get lost in, and she could almost swear that a few metres away she could see the shadow of a gliding pegasi. There were little options for her, in little time- she'd no longer have a cover of ponies. She could either try and find another surge of ponies, or she could make a run for it. She peered into the distance, seeing the edge of the village nearing as the outskirts of the woods began to show. Then she peered behind her, to see ponies strolling in opposing directions, leaving no crowd to hide in. Her brain sent signals to her, ordering her to take the second option. "Alright... let's get this over and done with..." Instantly, Snow Flutter bolted forward, her hooves moving faster than lightning as she hightailed, leaving a pink and yellow streak of dust behind her. Almost instantly, she could feel grass below her hooves, as she reached the boundaries of the forest.
"Soarin, did you see that?" Flash Sentry gasped, soaring down and trotting to the blizzard of dust Snow Flutter had left behind.
"Quick! We have to keep up with her!" Soarin called, flapping his wings in the professional way a Winderbolt would, as he absconded into the forest.
Flash Sentry hurriedly zipped after the sporty pegasi.
Snow Flutter panted, as she zipped through the woods, feeling her cotton-candy mane swishing across her face, blinding her sight. "I... can't keep... this up much... longer," Snow Flutter breathed gulps of air. Sweat dribbled down her, and her heart was pounding. Her legs were aching, pleading her to stop, and her wings were too drenched in sweat to be of any help.
"Oh please, oh please...
Wilderness out there...
I need your help-
Even if you don't care..!"
Snow Flutter closed her teal eyes, as her running began to slow into a jog. Pushing herself harder was useless. Her buckled legs was too stubborn.
"I may have died no times...
But my first is behind me.
Wilderness, somewhere...
Help, help I plea."
She slowed down even more, and the agonising sound of flapping wings resonated through her ears. They were inches from her now... she closed her eyes, prepared to meet a starry new world. She felt a gush of feathers fall on her, and a force grip at her shoulders before lifting her up into the air, and swooping forwards. That who was lifting her was no pony- she couldn't feel hooves on her shoulders, no. She could feel... talons?
Snow Flutter's eyes shot open, and she peered up to see a graceful bird flying her away from danger. It was almost larger than her, and its wingspan was wider than two ponies put together. It had a pointy beak, and eyes as yellow as corn. Its feathers were scarlet, lined with orange, and flecks of yellow sparks sprinkled from the tips. It was a bird of fire- the fire bird. The Phoenix, as flames rippled down its wings.
Snow Flutter gaped, before shaking her head, and crying a squee of delight. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! A Phoenix! Oh my! I have never seen a Phoenix before- I have been looking forever just to say hi to one! Hi! Oh my gosh, hi friend!"
The bird shrilled, a calm and kind expression on its face. Hi.
"My name is Snow Flutter... what is yours?" The butter yellow pegasi questioned, as the bird flew her over the canopy.
Philomena. The sun and night combined told me to come here. The bird hesitated, before looking on ahead. That is all I can say... but good job on everything you have achieved.
Snow Flutter tilted her head, not understanding what the bird was talking about. "Okay... thanks?"
The Phoenix cawed, spinning around, and angling it's feathers behind it.
Snow Flutter peered around, and to her shock, she saw the two pegasi catching up to them... and fast. "Philomena, I cannot let them catch me! I have been avoiding death for far too long, will I ever reach sanity?"
Philomena cocked her head, before lightening the grip she had on Snow Flutter. Ah, young child. Sometimes things are difficult and sanity is miles away. Sometimes, the incident may be the opposite of sanity itself. Just remember to face your fears, keep your eyes open and remember that things... may not always be how they seem.
"Sanity... nowhere..? What you said sounds like something Discord would say! Philomena... I don't understand..." Snow Flutter felt the claws loosen from her shoulder even more, making her shudder.
Huh, you are just as shy as the moon and as curious as the sun said you would be. Nothing bad, no... but what happens... just accept it... and you will never die... not until you have finished what you must complete. Philomena retracted her talons from Snow Flutter, watching as the small pegasi began to fall from the sky, shouting things like, "Philomena! No! Wait- stop!" The Phoenix shook her head, before flying upwards, and feeling the blazing sun caress her feathers.
My Celestia, I hope what you say is true... she has potential, I see it in her. Philomena plucked a blazing hot feather from her wing, as she peered at the texture. She lifted the feather up, allowing a breeze to carry it away, and turn it into ashes.
Snow Flutter ripped through the trees, her second free fall this day. Branches cushioned her drop, before she landed in one large tree in particular. The branches and leaves enfolded over her like an umbrella and offered protection. She was nestled in the front of the leafy shelter, darkness shadowing the room. Her eyes adjusted to the light, as she breathed heavily, and the branches rustled under her light weight.
"So... much... drama..." She peered at her hooves, before looking up, and seeing the rest of the room in the treetop around her- and three other pairs of eyes.
If it was impossible to scream to the sun, it was now possible, as Snow Flutter's lungs let out the most traumatised and high-pitched shriek at full volume.
"Agh! My ears! The pain! The agony!" The green pair of eyes wailed, as the pony helplessly clutched at it's ears in torment. "Make it stop- make it stop! Please!"
"Shut up! At this rate, Chrysalis will know where we are!"
A light flickered on, and Snow Flutter's eyes rested on three ponies before her. Almost instantly, she stopped screaming, and began clutching at her throat because of the lack of oxygen wasted in letting out the ear-splitting noise. Finally, she finished with a sneeze, as she stared at the three in shock. "Fancypants, Big Macintosh, Cheese Sandwich! What in Equestria are you three doing here? You are all dead for Celestia's sake!"
"Heh... well about that..." Big Macintosh peered at the ground guiltily, alongside Cheese Sandwich and Fancypants.
The branches parted, as two other guests visited the tree.
"Guys, bad news- she disappeared, and we have looked everywhere!" A voice sounded.
"Everywhere?"
"Well... everywhere within three metres."
Snow Flutter screamed again, before pouncing backwards, and hiding behind the three stallions she had originally been chatting to. "You savage, callous monsters! Stay back! Stay back!"
"Oh- hey Snow Flutter..." Flash Sentry glanced to the side, before peering back again, and biting his lip. "We can explain..."
Snow Flutter's pupils shrank, and the blood-red veins clawed their way into the whiteness. Her matted mane looked tortured, and her teeth were grinding. "You can explain? You can explain?" She collapsed to the ground curling up into a little ball and rocking from side to side, letting out the occasional petrified laugh.
"Oh great. Now you have broken Snow Flutter. Congratulations," Fancypants muttered.
"It was Flash Sentry's fault!" Soarin quickly stepped to the side, whistling whilst pointing to the golden pegasi.
"Yes, we didn't mean it! Wait- what?" Flash Sentry backtracked, before glaring at Soarin.
Cheese Sandwich grinned goofily. "Ooh, so much sabotage and farce! I'm liking this!" He grabbed a bag of popcorn out of nowhere, and watched the dilemma as if it were a reality TV show.
"Well... how are we going to fix... this?" Fancypants pointed towards the yellow pegasi on the floor, who was still letting out tortured cries whilst she was trying to take everything it. "Somepony needs to help her!"
"Not it!" Soarin shrilled, zipping up so he was sitting on a branch higher than everypony else.
Flash Sentry scowled daggers at the ice-blue pegasi. "Quit acting like a child Soarin! Get down here this instant, so se can consult this predicament like adults- which most of us are."
"Yeah, I don't know what those words mean, but I am going to stay up here... and... rest..." Soarin began to fake snore.
"I am going to leave before I rip somepony's throat out," Flash Sentry let out a cooling sigh, his eye twitching, as he evacuated the tree for a few minutes.
"So... what do we do?" Fancypants questioned, turning to Cheese Sandwich and Big Macintosh, who both shrugged.
"Hey," Soarin peered over the side of the branch he was sitting on. "Should we just get Shining Armour? He is always solving the problems which we are too lazy to work out ourselves."
"Oh... right," Fancypants retorted, before turning to Cheese Sandwich. "Since you have been of no use in the passed five minutes, you will be the one to get him- now."
The orange colt's eyes went opposite angles for a second, before he blinked and they were back in place. "Okay, fine." Out of nowhere, Cheese Sandwich took a megaphone, and began to holler through the amplifying object. "Shining Armour! Come to the tree now! We need help, I repeat we need H.E.L.P standing for Help, Elves, Liberate, Pony!"
"Or just help," Big Macintosh muttered, as he glanced at his bleeding ears, from the scream and now the megaphone.
"Chrysalis's pitiful sake, if both of those were loud, then imagine what it would have sounded like if Snow Flutter had screamed through the megaphone," Soarin shuddered, as he rolled off of the branch, and floated down to the same level as the other ponies were.
Flash Sentry returned to the tree, keeping his distance from Soarin as they all waited for Shining Armour.
After some time, the white unicorn with the streaked blue mane arrived, fear on his face. "What happened- I heard the megaphone..."
"Snow Flutter is mortified- she's been damaged- scarred. We don't know *sneeze* what to do," Flash Sentry pointed at Snow Flutter with his wing.
She was still curled up into a little ball, fear on her face, and she was trembling helplessly.
Shining Armour's eyes widened, before he sat down, keeping his distance from her. "Give her space everypony..."
Cheese Sandwich and Fancypants, who were both the closest, quickly backed away from the small creature.
"Snow Flutter, can you hear me?" Shining Armour questioned to the timid pegasi.
Snow Flutter's eyes darted upwards, and she scuffled backwards slightly. "Y-yes..."
"We aren't going to hurt you- we were never going to hurt you- we were testing you." Shining Armour turned to Flash Sentry and Soarin who both nodded.
Snow Flutter peered at them, the expression on her face unreadable. "R-really? W-why?"
"Because Chrysalis hurt you... do you remember her hurting you?"
Snow Flutter paused, restarting her memory, and allowing pictures and images to flow through her mind. "I do remember a pony hurting me- it wasn't Chrysalis- it didn't look like Chrysalis..."
"Snow Flutter- Chrysalis is a changeling- she can take the form of other ponies, remember?" Shining Armour gave her a grim glance.
"Gasp..!" Snow Flutter literally said, for no reason whatsoever. "Explanation mark! True! Information accepted! Realisation..."
"Haha, you sound like a robot! Let me talk like that too!" Cheese Sandwich hopped up and down. "Comedy, data analysed, true, equals 3.141592!"
Shining Armour blinked, before shaking his head. "No."
"But-"
"Bad. Naughty. Go."
"But..."
"Now!"
"Okay," Cheese Sandwich pouted, his puffy mane going droopy as he sulked out of the room.
Shining Armour waited until he was completely gone, before he continued speaking.
"Now we were testing you- because we know that it's not safe for you to stay at home anymore."
Snow Flutter sniffed. "It's not?"
"It's not. So we decided that instead of leaving you at home, we'd take you with us- to gather."
"Which is totally the same as stealing!" Cheese Sandwich's head shot from behind the tree, the grin still plastered on his face.
"Ignore him!" Flash Sentry quickly interjected, giving an awkward smile, before backing away.
Snow Flutter slowly nodded, taking the information in.
"So we tested you to see how you would react in certain situations. That was why we were faking to be murderers," Shining Armour completed.
Snow Flutter nodded for the final time, before getting up into her hooves, no longer looking corrupted, and more like her normal self. "How did I do in the test? Did I pass?"
"Did you pass? Are you kidding?" Soarin looked at Snow Flutter the same way as a pony would if they had just been told that they were adopted and their whole life had been a lie.
"Oh... I guess I must have gotten negative-twenty-percent or something," Snow Flutter gave the smallest laugh- could it even be counted as a laugh?
"No- it's more like you got one-hundred and twenty-percent!" Flash Sentry gibbered. "I mean- we were not prepared for you to fight back, and the techniques you used were pure genius!"
"Like the part where you hid in the populated area- it was so difficult to see you when there were hundreds of other ponies trotting around!" Soarin explained.
"Or the part where you got nature itself to help you! The next thing we know, a majestic Phoenix is helping you!" Flash Sentry cried, before straightening up, and putting a serious expression on his face.
"Yes, you did exceptionally well.," Shining Armour nodded.
Snow Flutter beamed from ear to ear. "Yay! So am I... am I ready to go and gather now?"
Fancypants burst into laughter. "Gosh, no! You'd be horrible at it!"
Snow Flutter's ears flattened, obviously offended.
"Eheh... what he means is, you will be ready, but first, you need training," Shining Armour rendered, frowning at the other unicorn.
"Yep! A lot of training!" Cheese Sandwich grinned, before turning to the fourth wall. "That ends this chapter! Oh, so much tension! Stay tuned to find out what happens next time on The Second Destiny! Don't forget to follow, favourite and review!"
The other ponies glanced confusedly to each other, before turning to their loopy friend.
"Who are ya talkin' to?" Big Macintosh cocked his burly head.
"Nopony!"